December 29, 2025 5:25 PM | Stories by Kansas City Star journalists, with AI summarization
The curated articles all focus on recent conflicts involving political decisions, immigration, and communication issues in Kansas City and surrounding areas. Each article highlights actions by local or state actors that have stirred debate and legal scrutiny. One article describes how CoreCivic reapplies for permission to operate an immigrant detention facility in Leavenworth. The company changes strategy after a court ruling and begins engaging with local officials and residents. Another story details a major petition campaign to force a statewide referendum on Missouri’s redistricting map. Organizers submit over 300,000 signatures and await review by election officials. A third example focuses on a Missouri lawmaker who criticizes outside influence on social media, confusing a Missouri town called California for the state. This error leads to local criticism and points to tensions over gerrymandering. The last article recounts a small-town Kansas mayor’s resignation after facing charges for voting as a non-citizen. His case draws attention to the intersection of local elections and federal immigration enforcement.
NO. 1: MISSOURI LAWMAKER SLAMS ELECTIONS ‘DECIDED IN CALIFORNIA.’ SHE MISSED ONE DETAIL A Missouri Republican lawmaker last week blasted out-of-state influence amid an ongoing redistricting fight, writing on social media that “Missouri’s elections aren’t decided in California.” But the post that U.S. | Published December 9, 2025 | Read Full Story by Kacen Bayless
NO. 2: MISSOURI CAMPAIGN TURNS IN 300K SIGNATURES TO STRIKE DOWN GERRYMANDERED MAP A campaign to strike down Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map submitted hundreds of thousands of petition signatures from residents across the state on Tuesday, a major step toward forcing a statewide vote on the map. | Published December 9, 2025 | Read Full Story by Kacen Bayless
NO. 3: CORECIVIC REVERSES COURSE, ASKS LEAVENWORTH FOR PERMISSION TO OPERATE ICE PRISON CoreCivic, America’s largest private prison chain, is doing something its executives and lawyers have repeatedly argued it shouldn’t have to do — ask permission. | Published December 9, 2025 | Read Full Story by Matthew Kelly
NO. 4: SMALL-TOWN KANSAS MAYOR RESIGNS, FACING DEPORTATION FOR VOTING AS A NON-CITIZEN The small-town Kansas mayor who is facing felony charges and possible deportation for allegedly voting as a non-U.S. | Published December 9, 2025 | Read Full Story by Matthew Kelly
The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.
Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article314033406.html#storylink=cpy